Relativity
by parisindy
Summary: Harper Goes missing and Beka believes the Maru has been destroyed. What happened?
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: **Relativity**

AUTHOR: Parisindy

RATING: PG 13

DISCLAIMER: No money was received or exchanged.  
We do not own Andromeda or any of its Characters.  
This is purely for fun.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was done as a response to a challenge from Jips … darn her.

And, thank you to the wonderful Eljay for the Beta reading as always.

* * *

"When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."

_Albert Einstein On relativity_

* * *

**Relativity**

The recording was crackling, with a lot of background noise, but the voice was unmistakable. Beka leaned forward on to one of Andromeda's communication consoles, hoping it would help her to hear the message the voice was trying to convey.

"Beka," the voice spoke before static interrupted the transmission. "Maru... probably... crash," it continued. "Sorry, I did all I could, but I don't think even this super-genius can stop..." more static disrupted the recorded. "Tell everyone I'm sorry... love them... I won't survive this, I can't believe this is it... hurts, all over."

"Harper," Beka spoke softly, as the transmission abruptly ended, and she fought her emotion, a cold chill running down her back. The message had been time delayed. He had been on a supply run, and was expected to be gone a week. He was four days over due when she got the message so there was no telling when he sent it or if there was still a chance to find him.

"Boss."

Beka spun around, suddenly alert and surprised as she stared at the disheveled form of Harper standing before her.

"Harper?" she spoke with obvious confusion.

"I can explain," He held his arms out stiffly as if he was attempting to fend off her angered attack or find his balance, it became even more unclear as he wavered unsteadily. Finally, his knees gave out all together.

"Harper?" She exclaimed again rushing forward catching him before he hit the deck plating. "What the hell happened and where is the Maru?"

Harper fought to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head as he gasped raggedly. "L-l-long story.

Beka called for Trance to send a medical team before quickly turning her attention back to her engineer. "And, you will tell me everything as soon as we have Trance look at you okay? Just stay awake!"

Harper's head lolled back and forth in a vain attempt to focus. "Not my fault," He mumbled barley audible. "Space-slugs."

* * *

72 hours / 3 days earlier

Harper dodged through the tendrils of space debris left by some previous garbage hauler. He flipped and spun the Maru through the mess like dolphin through a ferry's wake. "Whoooo hooooo!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. It's had been so long since Beka set him free by himself. He hadn't been out since that incident on Veloz 6. _Really if you are a diplomatic Ambassador shouldn't you wear a sign or something, stating who you are and your gender?_ It made sense to him. But, Dylan, and Beka didn't agree. He had only been on the Andromeda for little over a year and he had quickly learned why he was the engineer and not a spokesperson for the New Commonwealth. It's not like Earth had any debutantes or formal banquets with dignitaries. The idea of it made him snork out loud, as images of Magog in ball gowns filled his head. So it wasn't his fault really, was it? As a result he hadn't felt_ too_ bad when he had taken an unscheduled detour to visit the race tubes on small moon near Toreena.

His _'mission'_ had been to sort through garbage on a dump asteroid, looking for the obsolete parts the Maru needed for its influx manifold. After a day on the Toreenan moon, stuffing his face full of _Banda Pretzels_…erm and some other substances he had felt better prepared to face the arduous task of sorting through Garbage. And, actually it hadn't been too bad at all. He found the parts for the manifold and some other cool stuff that Rommie might be able to use. He would have to tell her a small white lie though. Rommie was way to prissy when it came to used parts. If she found out he got the stuff from a Dump 'roid she would never let him use it. So after he polished it up and if she didn't pull her lie detector trick he would tell her he got them on sale somewhere. She would never know the difference. _F__ullerene mesh didn't grow on trees after all_.

Out of nowhere one of the Maru's proximity alarms started to sound. He craned his neck but couldn't see anything through the forward view. He quickly flipped a few switches and a small bulky craft appeared on screen off the Maru's Starboard side. Harper swore under his breath and prepared for the worst. He knew things were going too well.

The light indicating an incoming message flashed and Harper hit the Communications indicator. A large Nietzschean, weren't they all, with dark curly hair flashed on screen and sneered back at him. "I am Agio, out of Deity by Saga and how dare you fly that hunk of junk through my air space!"

"I'm Seamus Zelazny Harper out of Earth by way of kicking your ass! And this is the Eureka Maru! She ain't much but she's better then anything you got, Uber!"

Agio laughed, "Very brave when you're out of arm's reach, aren't you? Do you care to put you credit where your mouth is, _boy_?" He sneered in to the communicator.

Harper leaned closer the view screen; _this was getting interesting_. "What do you have in mind?"

"First one to slippoint gets the other one's ship."

Harper was confident but not an idiot. There was no telling what the Nietzchean had up his sleeve. "No way, how about a 1,000 credits and a case of sparky? You have the money don't you—or are you Ubers scrapping the bottom of the proverbial barrel again?"

Agio growled at him, "Don't push me child! I have aft missiles. When you are flying in my shadow I'll vaporize you and your tin can!"

"Bring it on Mutt Face!" Harper ended the transmission and he started to hit switches, toggles and buttons frantically. The Maru shook and shivered as if it shared Harper's own anxiety. "Don't worry Maru, we'll let this guy ride our wake but nothing more, okay? Then we'll collect out money and get you home to your Momma."

Harper shifted in his chair and pushed the piloting controls all the way forward. Concentrating on the space in front of him he waited for signal. Agio launched the flare indicating the start of the race. Harper grabbed the Maru's thruster and throttle controls pulling them back sharply. The Maru trembled for a second before roaring to life. Harper let out a holler as they leapt forward into the lead. He immediately juked left and cut in front of Agio's ship, almost close enough to wash the Nietzschean's prow with flame.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews I'm just having a bit of fun with this one

* * *

Harper flipped the ship on its side as a piece of debris nearly decapitated the Maru.

Agio, in hot pursuit, copied his move. "What the hell was that?" Agio's image reappeared on the communications screen. "You're done for now boy! That hunk of junk you're flying is coming apart at the seams!"

"Hey!" Harper retorted angrily. "That wasn't the Maru! I noticed some debris before but I thought we were clear of it."

"If this is sometime of trick, Kludge…"

"Hey Agio, if you aren't up for it I'll just take my winnings and go…"

"Don't make me laugh! I could out fly you in my sleep!"

"Ah, shut up will ya! You're distracting me and I'm busy kicking your butt."

Just as soon as Harper flipped the Comms off again he noticed another twenty pieces of space junk headed directly for him. He cranked the pilot's yokes violently and avoided some of the crap; only half of it still managed to bounce off the hull. A loud scraping noise filled the ship as a particularly big piece dragged itself lengthwise down the ship.

"Crap, Crap, Crap; Beka's going to kill me!"

Harper twisted the ship continuously, avoiding debris and cutting off the pompous over grown Nietzschean every time he tried to pass him.

Again, another large piece was heading for him; this time it was aiming directly for the Eureka Maru's Command Deck. "Oh, Boy!" Harper pulled the ship in to a sharp dive. He spared a quick glance up as the giant chunk of metal squeaked by. _That looked like a slipstream core. _Then another thought occurred to him but it was just a second to late, as about a dozen ships came in to view. _That stupid Nietzchean had just raced him in to a battlefield. Even worse some sort of Sabra territorial dispute!_

Harper pulled the Maru up sharply in a vain attempt to turn around and run before he was noticed. The only luck he was going to have today was bad luck though. A loud voice blared through the Maru's speakers.

"**Attention Drago ships! Power down immediately and you will not be terminated."**

Harper flipped on the view screen and waved his arms frantically. "No, No, No I'm not with him! I'm just a worthless Kludge, minding my own business. You don't want me!"

"Power down now, Slave!

_Crap, this day just was just not going well._ "Okay, relax, everyone just stay calm. Zen… You Niets ever study Zen? I'm just reaching for the off switch…" Harper sidled slowly towards the weapons controls. "I just need to flip this one switch and…YOU CAN KISS MY ASS!"

Harper opened fire. He new the forward weapons weren't working right. And he didn't have a death wish by firing on a full squadron of Sabra fighters. Harper relied on the one thing he knew he was good at, engineering. He knew since the Delron Bolts were malfunctioning earlier they would stick and smoke. It was the perfect cover for him to get away. He leapt for the pilot's seat and spun the Maru in a tight circle. The smoke screen worked like a charm, for a few seconds. But that dumb idiot Agio was blocking his exit. The control's slipped from his hands as the Maru bucked in complaint from the sudden spin.

Agio's ship proved to be the one piece of space junk he was unable to avoid as the Maru seem to jump forward of its own accord.

"Gah!" He screamed just as everything went black.

Cold. The first thing he became aware of was cold. Did cold mean he wasn't dead? He blinked his eyes open hesitatingly. He was on his back gazing up at the amazing star field above his head. _Wait a minute something wasn't right._ _He was in the Maru. Crap! Oh No Beka really was going to kill him this time. H_e looked up at the stars up through a giant hole in the Maru's hull. _I'm going to need more parts._

He must have crashed. But how the hell did he end up on a planet? Slowly he got to his feet. The back of his head thumped in time to his heart beat and his right knee twinged sharply and threatened to give out. _Great just what I needed._ He complained bitterly to himself about the injuries. In reality he was damn lucky it wasn't worse. He half hopped, half walked to the air lock avoiding the damaged connectors that sparked around him. As he surveyed the damage to the outside of the Maru the sun began to set, casting strange shadows through the nearby trees.

Harper let out a low whistle as what must have happened became slowly evident. When the Maru crashed in to Agio's hunk of junk, by sheer force the two ships became fused. Agio still tried to make a run for it no doubt, but the extra weight would have really thrown off his navigation controls. Agio had crash-landed them both on some planet. Harper ran a hand over his face in attempt to clear his mind and assess what he needed to do.

Agio seemed to be nowhere around. But that didn't surprise Harper much. He had probably taken off the first chance he got. He would need to find a hiding spot himself, for tonight at least. No doubt the Sabra would be looking for them and the Maru, combined as it was with Agio's ship, stuck out like a landing beacon. Besides, he had to find parts for repairs anyways. Maybe there was a Neit free village somewhere near by? There was no way he was going to let Beka know he destroyed her Baby without at least trying to fix it first.

So his only real choice was to find a place to sleep other than the Maru tonight. In the morning he would have to scout out if the Sabra had followed them, then find parts.

Harper glanced around slowly. They seemed to have crashed in to some sort of small clearing. He would have to hide somewhere in the bush for the night. Not too close, as he would be easy to find. Not too far as he could easily get lost.

Sure, he grew up on a planet; sure he had great survival skills. IN THE GHETTO! Magog were in the woods. You didn't go in to the woods! Ever! People who went in the trees didn't come back! He rubbed his hands briskly up and down his bare arms in an attempt to ward off a sudden chill. Staring in to the darkening trees and the growing shadows he was reminded of a song that Brendan used to tease him with when they were kids. And now he couldn't shake the song from brain.

If you go down in the woods today,  
You're sure of a big surprise.  
If you go down in the woods today,  
You'd better go in disguise.

For every kid that ever there was  
Will be gathered there for certain because  
Today's the day the Magog have their picnic.

Every Magog who's been hungry  
Is sure of a treat today.  
There's lots of marvelous things to eat  
And wonderful games to play.

Beneath the trees where nobody sees  
They'll hide and seek as long as they please  
'Cause that's the way the Magog have their picnic.

If you go down in the woods today,  
You'd better not go alone.  
It's lovely down in the woods today,  
But safer to stay at home.

For every Kid that ever there was  
Will be gathered there for certain because  
Today's the day the Magog have their picnic.

Picnic time for Magog...  
The little Magog are having a lovely time today.  
Watch them, or you will be caught unawares,  
And see them picnic on their holiday.

See them happily grunt about.  
They love to play and shout.  
They never have any care.

At six o'clock your Mummies and Daddies  
Will be at home to cry,  
because, today's the day the Magog have their picnic.

Harper took a deep breath as he stepped forward. Old dry leaves crunched like shattered bones beneath his feet. It had been a long day and apparently it was going to be an even longer night.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A snippet is better then nothing right? Thanks for the reviews gang ...just an

FYI I have started posting **Fall Seven Times** as well. That another drom story I've been working on

Thanks as always to my beta Eljay .

* * *

Light from the lowering sun filtered through the branches over his head. He had quickly gotten turned around in the dense bush and currently wasn't sure if he was heading closer to or away from the Maru. Despite it all it felt kind of good to be back on land again. He missed air that smelled and unpredictable environments. Seamus Harper shivered and hugged himself as he limped through a small opening between two trees. It wasn't that cold but the aura of the woods made him wish he had brought his jacket. It was hard to think about how long he had been in space. It apparently it had been long enough for him to get used to the environmental regulators.

He pushed forward parting some foliage with an outstretched arm. When he heard a soft crackle. Or did he? Brendan's Magog picnic songs started beating a tune in his head suddenly sounding like a heavy metal song. Taking a deep breath to calm himself; _it was just a bunny. Yeah, that's it--a bunny._

He took another, this time more cautious, step forward. A loud thud vibrated the dirt beneath his feet. The trees shook and some sort of flying creatures took flight. _Big bunny, gigantic bunny… Godzilla Bunny!_

Harper ran wildly bushed whipping at his face. Roots ripped at his ankles and he tried not to trip. Godzilla bunnies could undoubtedly run very fast. His knee complained from the impact of running but he had bigger concerns now. His heart beat like a wild bird in cage.

Then everything came to a very abrupt and sudden stop as Harper hit something that felt like a brick wall.

He bounced backwards, hitting the ground hard. _Oomph! _Air whistled out of his mouth. "Ow! Damnit!'

He scrambled backwards, as a looming silhouetted figure loomed over him. He licked his lips trying to get some moisture back in to his suddenly dry mouth. But, all he tasted was the blood from his now damaged nose.

"Is that you, little Earth Rat?"

"Oh, god! Agio I'm so going to kick your ass! You scared me half to death!'

Agio dropped something large and stepped forward to grab harper by his collar and haul him to his feet. "Ah, no harm then."

"You stupid over-grown idiot! You crashed the MARU!" Harper leapt forward in a fury, his arms swinging. Agio, who still had a hold of his collar, just straightened his arm, which left Harper attacking nothing but air.

"That hunk of junk was never meant to see space, boy"

"I'm no one's boy, Uber! Use my name or this is going to be a very short conversation." Harper shrugged himself free of Agio's grip and placed his hand on his holstered Gauss Gun.

"Fine, Fine." Agio lifted his hands in mock defeat.

"What they hell were you doing in the bushes anyways? And what was that thing you were carrying?" Harper sniped at the Nietzchean.

"None, of your business and none of your business."

"Are your buddies the Sabra going to follow us?" Harper questioned as he pushed his way past to see what Agio had dropped. Not waiting or expecting an answer he let out a low whistle of surprise. "Is that hull plating? Where the hell did you get it from?"

"My fairy godmother," Agio sneered at him in disdain.

"Ass! The least you could do is tell me where you got it after all the trouble you've caused me!"

Agio reached over and hoisted the deck plating up and away from Harper and started to walk towards where they had crashed. "I'm not here to answer your questions, underling; if you want to know go find out yourself. Not that it would do you any good, as you obviously know nothing about engineering. No self respecting engineer would fly that piece of crap you do."

Harper gasped and sputtered with out rage unsure of which insult he should address first. By the time he had decided on an appropriate answer it was too late and Agio was gone.

Harper turned and ran the best he could with his sore leg in the direction Agio had come from. _Damn Nietzcheans can't even answer a simple question. _It didn't take him long before he came across a beautiful site. Silhouetted in the rising moonlight was a Drop Ship Carrier (DSC) _Victory's Crucible_ Class; looked like it was pre-fall too. It looked really, really old, but it was practically a goldmine of parts. If he had found this earlier he would have never have had to go to the garbage pits near Toreena. The Maru didn't work well with new parts. The advanced tech just wasn't her style and never really fit properly. But, this stuff… it was perfect. There was no way he was going to allow that over-grown ape to salvage all this before he did.

"_You obviously know nothing about engineering."_ Harper mimicked Agio's voice. "I'll show you who the true super-genius is! Stupid Uber!"

Harper started rapidly pulling what he could from the ancient wreck.

The battle was on.

tbc


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews guys ((hugs))

* * *

Okay; the first trip took him like three hours. He blamed the trees and the darkness because he wouldn't have got lost otherwise. At least that was what he was telling himself. Plus he was carrying a lot of stuff. Basically anything he could rip off with his bare hands. Agio, however seemed to have no problem with the dark or trees and always kept passing him. The infuriating thing was every time Agio did, he did his best to sneak up and scare the… well—something even a Nightsider wouldn't like the smell of—out of him. That guy sure could move fast for a dumb ox. 

The second trip, took well…okay; so it took as long as the first, but this time he blamed Agio. The fact that he jumped at every little sound expecting Agio to leap out at him distracted him. So it wasn't really Harper's fault when he got lost for like the eighth time. At least this time he had his nano-welder so it would be easier to cut stuff up and bring it back. He needed to seal that hole in the Maru. He had taken a good look at it after he made it back from the first trip. It didn't look that bad. What actually worried him more was a second hole that he hadn't seen right off. The first hole was probably made when the crashed in to something on the planet. But the second was made from the initial impact of Agio's ship hitting his. Why this was a problem was that it had seemed to actually fuse the two ships together into one. Plus the heat of the impact not only fused the ships but melted a hole right though. So now, when Harper stood in the Galley he could actually see into Agio's cargo hold. And whatever Agio had been carrying was now damaged beyond repair. It looked like coolant or something, as there was green and yellow slime all over the containers that had cracked open.

As Harper trudged through the trees towards the direction he hoped the Maru was in he had to admit something else was slowing him down too. His head was pounding, his knee twitched as if it had a mind of it's own with every step. And he was tired … exhausted really. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He had rigged up an old canvas he found on the Maru to work as a sack. But after he had had filled it with 3 foot pieces of struts and a about a dozen pieces of hull plating the size of pizza pans, it was way too heavy to lift. He wished hopelessly for a Maria-bot to fall from the sky but in the end was resigned to lugging it all himself. He wrapped a climber's rope around it all and pulled it behind him has he limped back to the Maru. Between lugging his sack of loot and waiting for Agio to jump out at him at any moment it was no wonder he was exhausted; he was thinking even Rhade would be a sight for sore eyes at this point.

His stomach growled. "I know, I know, I haven't forgotten about you either," Harper bemoaned to himself.

"Talking to yourself Harper? I always knew you earth rats were not quite right in the head."

Harper jumped startled at the sound of Agio's voice. "Agio, you really don't want to mess with me right now or this _'rat'_ is going to bite your kneecaps off."

"Well I don't want that, you probably have rabies or something!" The Nietzchean chuckled at his own wit. "What are you planning to do with all this stuff?" Agio poked at the bag Harper had been hauling.

"What the hell do you think? I'm going to fix the Maru, One of us has to save our sorry asses"

"Aw, you're just a Kludge. What does a Kludge know about fixing a ship? You wouldn't know a nano-welder from a slipstream manifold."

At that point smoke may have actually come out of his ears, he was so infuriated. He stood up as tall as he could and did his best to get in Agio's face. His voice dropped low and intense as he tried to speak through clenched teeth.

"Listen here; my name is Harper! H-a-r-p-e-r, Harper! Not Kludge or earth rat." Harper pulled out his nano-welder from his belt and held it close to the larger man's face causing him to flinch slightly as Harper ignited it. "This is a nano-welder, I know how to work it and I know it's not a manifold. I'm the best damn engineer this side of the Milky Way and you'll take care to remember that or I'll give you a demonstration of my skills."

Agio stepped back and applauded. "Well said, well said. So if you your as smart as you claim, where is this precious ship of yours?"

Okay so the stupid Nietzchean had a point but there was no way he was going to admit it. "I know where it is!" Harper sneered, "I was just trying to mislead you."

"You were trying to mislead me buy hauling a sack through the woods and making a lot of noise?"

"Well, everyone knows what idiots Nietzcheans are."

Agio growled and shoved Harper to the side hard. Harper's sore knee buckled in protest and he fell to his right, falling in to a clearing. The Maru sat not twenty feet away. "I knew that!" He yelled back in to the trees.

Agio soon lumbered out of the bush beside them. "Well, since you seem to know everything… and since there was no clear winner to the race…"

"There was a clear winner," Harper groused, dragging himself to his feet and dusting his pants off, working hard to ignore the now more intense throbbing in both his knee and his head; "And, you weren't it!"

"Anyways..." Agio didn't miss a beat, "I thought you might like to once again put your money where your mouth is."

"Meaning?" Harper squinted his eyes suspiciously.

"The first one to get their ship in order, without blowing themselves up in to space dust wins. Same wager as before."

"You're on, consider your assed kicked Uber. You don't know who you're dealing with."

"We'll see." Harper's opponent smirked at him smugly as if humoring a precocious five-year-old.

* * *

Four hours later, with a ration bar and a sparky cola at his side harper felt no better. He was clearly ahead in repairs but his lack of sleep and injuries were becoming more than distracting. If he took a nap then for sure Agio would cheat or in the very least pass him.

Harper yawned and rubbed at his eyes, it felt like someone had super-glued sandpaper inside of his eyelids.

Agio sneered at him through the hole still connecting the two ships. "Tired?"

"No," he relied sharply, followed by uncontrollable yawn.

Agio chuckled, shaking his head.

"What? What's so damned funny?" Harper snarled.

"Despite your obvious shortcomings, pun intended, your kind continues to amaze me. At every turn you fight the obvious, things like sleep and beings obviously your superior."

"Obviously," Harper snipped not quite under his breath.

"Yet," Agio continued. "You survive, and your kind seems to procreate like rodents. Nietzcheans are more calculated in all things. Our breeding is better and we are therefore stronger. Yet your lack of preciseness, that's obvious by your make up, makes it so there are more of you than there are of us. So does that make you stronger in the long run?" Agio shrugged, "It's just something I think about sometimes."

Harper wanted to bang his head against the piping he was welding just so he could get that conversation from his mind. "So let me get this straight. You think one day we so called non-advanced Humans will one day over take Nietzcheans because we are indiscriminate about who we sleep with?"

Agio shrugged noncommittally. "It's just something I think about."

"Well you really should stop it. You don't have all the facts. And, that right there is what's really wrong with the Nietzchean race. You get information and you exploit it to fit your needs. You make assumptions on what you think is the truth and you treat it as something that is forged in steel, when in reality there is much more information out there; you have based an entire philosophy on half-truths and whispered rumours. For example, you are not nearly so superior as you think you are."

"And what truths do you think you know that I do not?" Agio questioned as he opened a panel on his own ship that had wire smoking and sparking.

Harper talking with is hands pointing the pipe at Agio to make his point. "First of all I can't believe I am having a conversation about sex with you of all people. But you obviously have no experience so I'll fill you in…"

"I have been chosen by four strong woman to be their husband." Agio was indignant.

"That's because they all need some pansy to boss around," smirked Harper. "You should never let a woman boss you around; it's a sign of weakness. That's example one of something you don't know. Example number two, some of the people down on good ol' Earth mate for life. Bet you didn't know that huh?"

"Some of them have never mated at all. First example being you!" Agio chimed in. "I think you are the one spreading half-truths. I think mating for life amongst your kind is a rarity."

"True love always is rare."

Agio sneered then as he matched up two wired incorrectly and Harper wasn't about to correct him on it. "Nietzcheans don't believe in love, only necessity."

"Now who's telling half-truths? You can't tell me there wasn't a girl; the apple of your eye, the whip to your cream." Harper joked as he fitted his pipe into its spot and successfully reconnected the coolant valves.

Agio shook is head. "Why am I even talking to you?"

"It's my sunny personality." Harper flipped a few switches… "And my soon to be winning personality." He grinned openly, then dashed off to the command centre of the Maru to check some reading and start patching the breach out there.

"In your dreams Harper, in your dreams." Agio made sure the human was gone before donning protective gloves and reaching back towards one of his now cracked cargo containers. He reached in and pulled out a green and yellow florescent worm-type creature that wiggled and squeaked in protest. "I've only begun to fight. Those credits are as good as mine"

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews guys! You're the best!

sorry it's been awhile RL has been nuts

And thanks as always to Eljay!

* * *

Harper frowned at the readouts. He was missing something. He had patched all the holes except the one connecting his ships to Agio's. The problem there wasn't so much the hole but the fact that they seemed to be fused together. Other than that, everything should be in good enough shape for him to limp back to andromeda. Once there, he could give the Maru a complete overhaul. But here he was and the old gal refused to power up.

_What was he missing? _

He yawned helplessly; he was exhausted and sore. Even the Sparky Cola wasn't giving him the same kick as before. Maybe he should take just a quick catnap. He was way ahead of Annoying Agio, a quick nap couldn't hurt could it? In fact it might even help. He rubbed a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes. Maybe he'd be able to find the problem if he could get rid of this damned headache. It was driving him to distraction. Added to that, his knee was killing him. He turned and wandered towards the back of the Maru. Maybe Trance had some nanobots he could "borrow" for his knee …yeah that would be good, fantastic even!

Harper hopped over the threshold and entered Trance's quarters. When they were all living here things had been so cramped the room had also doubled has hydroponics and medical. He smiled; things on the andromeda were better than he could imagine. There was always hot water for showers, coffee and a soft bed. Things on the Maru had been a lot tougher but there was still a lot of good times and thousands of great memories. He sighed and shook himself out of his memories as he realized he was just standing in the hatchway. Gads, he really must be tired to have gotten this distracted by his thoughts.

He stepped over some of Trance's gardening stuff and unhooked the latch on the medical supply cupboard. Just as the door swung open he thought he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "What the…?" The curse died on his lips as he squinted and looked in to a darkened corned of the room.

When he saw nothing else he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Agio and the need for sleep was getting to him. He was getting even more paranoid if that was possible.

He reached in to the cupboard and grabbed an injector; not allowing himself to think too much about what he was doing, he jabbed it through his pants into his knee.

He let out a low hiss of pain but the nanobots began to work immediately and it already felt better. He stumbled out of the room his knee pleasantly numb for the first time in since the accident. All he wanted now was his bunk and an hour or two of uneventful sleep.

He entered the bunkroom blearily wondering why Beka and Trance got their own quarters while he has to sleep in the bunkroom. He slowly pulled himself up to his bunk. Being alone he could have slept anywhere but old habits die hard. He flipped back his blankets and slid underneath.

Almost asleep he let his hand feel beneath his pillow for a certain unmentionable object. He grinned to himself... at least unmentionable in mixed company. _Yup, it was still there_. He drifted to sleep still smiling smugly to himself.

Not ten minutes later he sat up with a bolt. Had something just slithered across his legs?

Nah, couldn't be he was on the Maru not back on Earth. There was no bugs or snakes in space, right? "Right," he replied answering his own question.

He settled himself back down and closed his eyes only to bolt up with a manly squeal. Well he hoped it was manly anyways. Nope that time there was defiantly something! He flipped back the covers and nearly screamed again. There was at least four slug like creatures sharing his bunk with him. They squirmed and left sticky trails in their wake. And worse… he closed his and tried to not think of what was worse. There was one that seemed to be attached to his calf like a leech. Oh Gads he wanted to throw up.

He threw himself off his bunk in purely instinctive need to get away and landed heavily on the floor. Unfortunately the slug-thing on his leg came with him. And the dammed thing didn't even seem phased at his mad scramble to get away from it and its buddies. Harper shook his leg wildly. It just would not come off!

The suddenly things got well… a little funky.

_Where the walls moving?_ _That freaking thing must be poisoning him!_ Despite his best judgment he reached down and pulled the writhing creature off his leg and threw it to the other side of the bunkroom. He suppressed a scream as his calf muscle flared in pain. "That was my good leg too!" he yelled after the creature.

He reached down to his leg, his hand probing the hole in his pants. Blood dripped steadily from the punctures. His head spun and he felt like he had way too much Weissbrau and sadly he hadn't had a drop. Just when he thought he had it under control, he felt yet another wave of vertigo that made his head flip flop, twisting his stomach into knots. Nausea set in full force and it was all he could do to roll on his side as so not to get vomit on his clothes. After a few desperate moments and fervent wished for Trance and her magic touch he rolled back on to his back. His vision swam in and out of focus and the last thing he saw before he passed out was Agio's smug facing looking down at him.

TBC

* * *

Next part of fall seven times coming soon 


	6. note

Just a note …

Sorry for the long delay updating my stories. A close family recently passed away. I have been writing more and will start posting again soon.

thank you for your patience  
parisindy


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